One of the most powerful storms ever recorded killed at least 10,000 people in the central Philippines province of Leyte, a senior police official said on Sunday, with coastal towns and the regional capital devastated by huge waves.

Super typhoon Haiyan destroyed about 70 to 80 percent of the area in its path as it tore through the province on Friday, said chief superintendent Elmer Soria, a regional police director.

Haiyan, a category 5 typhoon that churned through the Philippine archipelago in a straight line from east to west, packing wind gusts of around 275 kph (170 mph), weakened significantly before hitting northern Vietnam on Sunday.

Tacloban got wiped out. Surrounding Cebu province area has power but no water coz main supply got knocked out. Plenty of bottled water in the province stores but they have no money to buy so am sending pesos there for families to buy the water, rice, fish, charcoal, etc..

3
posted on 11/09/2013 7:10:19 PM PST
by bunkerhill7
((("The Second Amendment has no limits on firepower"-NY State Senator Kathleen A. Marchione.)))

“Alex, you and yours Ok?”
_________________________________________
Yes, everything in our town is fine, even though we are on the east cost, about 160 km south of the eye, and in the dark red circle that contained the eye, we little damage. Power was out, maybe 8 hours.
We had more damage from last months earthquake.
Our province has had water problems ever since the earthquake.
Often it is just a trickle, but enough to get by, as long as we store it when it is running. I also make ice that we sell.

I’m very sorry to hear that. What we read and see are very terrible for those going through it. First the earthquake and now the strongest typhoon ever recorded. People will work their way back but it will be sad and difficult.

“The reports are so heartbreaking.”
___________________________________________
Yes they are, but we must also be thankful that the disaster was limited in area affected. We must, however, remember in our prayers the people of Leyte that were so torn by the devastation.

According to Wiki, over 100,000 deaths would bring it close to one of the top 10 deadliest natural disasters since 1900. And the 3rd deadliest of this century behind the 2004 tsunami and 2010 Haiti earthquake.

With 10,000 deaths, the storm would be the deadliest natural disaster in the Philippines in recorded history. The previous biggest was a 1976 tsunami with up to 8,000 deaths. The next biggest was flooding from a tropical storm which sounds like it was in a region near to the areas affected today, in 1991, killing 5,100.

Was there just not enough high ground and shelter? Because there was plenty of notice it was coming. Could people just not find somewhere safe?

I believe that is part of it. There just aren't that many buildings in the area that could withstand those winds. I recall one picture beforehand of a church used as an evacuation center, with many families & children inside. The side walls were mostly large windows. It was enough to make one weep, hours before the storm hit...

Also, IIRC, PAGASA issued warnings late, in the opinion of many meteorologists who were monitoring the storm, and the upgrades to "Signal Level 4" (the highest level of warning), and the storm surge warnings were even later. PAGASA didn't even mention the storm until it was in their "area of responsibility", and then, with it being a relatively fast moving storm, time was short.

I was monitoring the storm and my wife and I were frantically trying to get word out to relatives and friends in the area, via her Facebook account, e-mails, etc.

Another problem is that there is no word in Tagalog, Visayan, or the local dialects, that I or my (Filipina - Visayan) wife know of, for "storm surge". Usually typhoons in the Philippines do not create large storm surges, so people don't really understand what might happen. On a meteorological forum I was monitoring (I post there occasionally), one US (I think) member was discussing the approaching storm with a Filipino member, and the Filipino said he was reasonably sure he'd be ok, as his house was fairly solid, and not in a (rain-caused) flood prone area. But he didn't understand the threat from the storm surge until the US member said "like a tsunami". Then the Filipino freaked out, but that was only a few hours before the Typhoon hit, and the Filipino and his family had nowhere better to flee to. We have not heard from him since, but hopefully that is just a downed communications issue.

25
posted on 11/10/2013 1:12:43 AM PST
by Paul R.
(We are in a break in an Ice Age. A brief break at that...)

“I am glad to hear you came out all right. It must be a difficult situation all around.”
_________________________________________________
It was little, or nothing, for us, but my God, one can not help from crying for the people on Leyte, the next island to the northeast of us....so much death and destruction.

A couple of years ago there was a storm where a coworker described what he did over the couple of days his department was closed...swimming his cousins out of the second floor of their house. Lots of places don’t have accessible high ground...especially once the storm hits.

32
posted on 11/10/2013 9:22:03 AM PST
by lepton
("It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into"--Jonathan Swift)

This is very true. I experienced this growing up in Manila. A simple downpour would cause so much flooding that schools and businesses close. It has become a sport for kids to wade in the water whenever there was a flood. It becomes a way of life there.

CBS devoted over 10 minutes to this story this evening. At least it's getting the attention it deserves, tho' I'd surely wish there was no need for the attention at all. (I know, disasters will regularly happen, my wish is only that, a fantasy.)

Reports indicate the U.S. has sent the USS George Washington aircraft carrier (probably the entire task force, I would think) to support relief efforts in the Philippines.

I saw a comment somewhere that the carrier could produce substantial amounts of drinking water (above the crew's needs) -- anyone have a figure on that?

38
posted on 11/11/2013 11:21:55 PM PST
by Paul R.
(We are in a break in an Ice Age. A brief break at that...)

Our local Fil-Am community is working on raising $$, but, it's not all that large a group and it's mostly composed of average working folks not exactly floating in money. If we can raise $5k, I'd be surprised and delighted.

Sending in a carrier task force is a pretty major effort, and can help a lot once on location, but it does take time to get there. I saw vid of US cargo planes being loaded up too -- how many have been sent I do not know. Hastily organized volunteer teams from the U.S., not necessarily affiliated with established relief organizations, are on the way too. The response in the next 24 hours could be critical, but complicating the matter is the security situation with looters, robbers, and such. The Philippine govt. needs to get a substantial military presence in there, now. From the Philippine Red Cross website (I'd surely think they won't mind the below being reposted with credit.):

Geneva / Manila (ICRC)  In a matter of hours on 8 November, Typhoon Haiyan  one of the strongest storms ever recorded  completely devastated parts of eastern Visayas in the central Philippines. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is closely coordinating its relief efforts with the Philippine Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and a number of National Societies of other countries.

The ICRC has an office and staff on the ground in Tacloban city and will be focusing its emergency response in Samar province, where it has been operational for many years in the context of the armed conflict in the southern Philippines.

"This area has been totally ravaged", said Sebastien Sujobert, head of the ICRC office in Tacloban. "Many lives were lost, a huge number of people are missing, and basic services such as drinking water and electricity have been cut off." There was also, he said, extensive damage to other infrastructure, and communication was difficult for those working to aid the stricken population. Both the Philippine Red Cross and the ICRC offices in Tacloban had been damaged, forcing staff to relocate temporarily. "To make matters worse, the security situation is tense. People here need every type of aid."

On 6 November, with the storm already bearing down on the area, ICRC Manila dispatched 11 trucks to Tacloban loaded with food and other essential relief supplies such as hygiene kits, kitchen utensils, jerrycans, tarpaulins, water bladders and water-treatment units, emergency latrines and medical supplies. However, the trucks were held up for a few days in Surigao city as all sea traffic came to a halt. These supplies have yet to reach Tacloban.

"There's an urgent need to speed up the humanitarian response," said Graziella Leite Piccolo, deputy head of the ICRC delegation in Manila. The organization was therefore sending additional staff by air from Manila and Davao to support personnel already on the scene. The priority, she said, was to survey the needs, and this would be done together with the Philippine Red Cross.

The trucks are expected in Tacloban tomorrow, Monday. That will enable the distribution of emergency relief to start. The ICRC is determined to reach the affected population as soon as possible.

Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.